Pop Culturalist Chats with Paul Moniz de Sá

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of doing a Q&A with Paul Moniz de Sá who plays one of the giants in The BFG. The BFG is a wonderful book written by Roald Dahl that has enthralled children across generations. The recent film adaptation by Steven Spielberg captures the detailed and quirky imaginative world of Sophie and the Big Friendly Giant and their adventure in England.

Paul Moniz de Sá discusses his role, Meatdripper, in The BFG with us:

PC: Did you read The BFG before you were cast? If you did, was it daunting to take on a role in a story that is so beloved by so many people?

Paul: I read the book when I was in elementary school and loved the language and the play on words. When I was asked to audition, I read the book again. I also tried to read it to my son before going to bed, but as soon as I read the words “It was the witching hour,” he got scared, and I decided it was not the best time. To tell the truth, I never really thought about taking on the role as a daunting task. My job as an actor is to bring the character to life, and there were many talented people involved in the project; it was about trusting one another and playing off each other.

PC: What is it like doing work using just your voice rather than having to also act on stage or on camera? What was the most challenging aspect of it?

Paul: The project was actually done using performance capture, so the film didn’t use just my voice, but my movements and facial expressions as well. We spent a lot of time working on the physicality of the giants and their relationships to one another. The book doesn’t go into much detail about each of the giants so we took the time, with the help of Melissa Mathison and Terry Notary, to bring them to life and discover their backstory. I am the Artistic Director of theater and music at Arts Umbrella in Vancouver, so I love working on physical theater and was surprised at how much working with performance capture was like doing theater.

PC: What was it like seeing the final film? 

Paul: I loved watching the film. We were lucky enough to see early renderings of the characters in real time as we filmed so we knew what we would look like.  The big difference was seeing the details in the fabrics and landscapes. And of course seeing the whole story put together. My favorite moment was after my son watched the film and said, “I really loved your movie Daddy!”

PC: If The BFG were to send a dream to you, what would it be about?

Paul: Okay, bear with me here. When I was seven years old, my dad passed away. When I was older, I found out that my father always wanted to be an actor or performer but his parents never allowed it. I guess that’s where I got the bug. My son is now eight years old and he loves to perform too. My dream would be the three of us performing and singing together.

Make sure to follow Paul on Twitter and Facebook!

The BFG is currently playing in movie theaters across the country.

Photo Credit: Adam Blasberg